A campaign group for fair prices at the pumps has upped the pressure on Chancellor Rishi Sunak not to scrap the decade-long freeze in fuel duty in this week's Budget.

FairFuelUK is growing increasingly anxious the Chancellor may scrap the freeze in order to allow more money to flow into government coffers.

Now it has written to every Conservative MP calling on them to back the freeze and explaining why it should be a key component to a post-pandemic recovery plan.

Cranbrook-based founder Howard Cox said: "Time and time again, chancellors have proclaimed they are the victims of the 10 year freeze. That they have lost billions and billions of tax revenue due to the Tory-inspired fiscal policy. It’s time they told the truth, to stop the well-financed anti-driver green activists claiming motorists, van drivers and hauliers are unfairly subsidised by keeping fuel duty at 57.95p a litre.

"Everything about the disingenuous rhetoric from the government assumes consumer and economic behaviour would not change. The CEBR [Centre for Economics and Business Research] have proved this is a deception.

"Anyone can produce a 'what if' straight line extrapolation of the future to justify the lost revenue argument. And that is what the Treasury and successive chancellors have done Budget after Budget to portray themselves as fiscal martyrs.

"Its more than dishonest, they’ve knowingly mislead voters, MPs and the media."

The letter to Tory MPs was sent today.

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